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Heracleum sphondylium - L.

Cow Parsnip

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Umbelliferae	Genus	Heracleum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	Many members of this genus, including many of the sub-species in this species[65], contain furanocoumarins. These have carcinogenic, mutagenic and phototoxic properties. See below for more details.
Range	Europe, including Britain, south of latitude 61° to western N. Africa, west and northern Asia.
Habitat	Moist grassland and ditches, by hedges and in woods[7, 17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Biennial/Perennial growing to 1.8m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; Meadow; Hedgerow;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves; Root; Stem.

Edible Uses: Sweetener.

Stem and young shoots - raw or cooked[5, 7, 9, 17]. Used as a green vegetable, when harvested just as they are sprouting from the ground they are somewhat like asparagus in flavour[183]. The rind is somewhat acrid[115]. The leaf stems are tied in bundles and dried in the sun until they turn yellow[238]. A sweet substance resembling sugar forms on the dried stems and is considered to be a great delicacy[2, 115, 183, 238]. The peduncles, before flowering, can be eaten as a vegetable or added to soups[183]. Root - cooked. It is usually boiled[7].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Aphrodisiac; Digestive; Expectorant; Sedative.

The roots and the leaves are aphrodisiac, digestive, mildly expectorant and sedative[7, 9, 238]. The plant is little used in modern herbalism but has been employed in the treatment of laryngitis and bronchitis[9, 238]. A tincture made from the aerial parts of the plant has also been used to relieve general debility, though it is uncertain how it works[7, 238]. The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and can be dried for later use[9].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, succeeding in any ordinary garden soil[1, 238], doing best in moist soils or deep woodland[1]. Grows well in full sun or partial shade[238]. This species contains a large number of sub-species. Some, but by no means all of them, can cause various problems as detailed at the top of this record. Subspecies transylvanicum, pyrenaicum, montanum, orsinii and alpinum are distinctly phototoxic, subspecies sphondylium and sibiricum are not phototoxic whilst subspecies granatense and ternatum vary in their toxicity[65]. A good bee plant[108].

Propagation

Seed - sow mid to late spring or early autumn in situ. Division in autumn.

Links

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 0
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Heracleum sphondylium

Sotar Sun Jul 20 2008

It's worth noting that in Poland and further eastwards it used to be a very important green vegetable. People would cover it with water in large barrels and let it go sour. The fermentation process would take from 2 to several days, depending on the temperature. The product was something between sauerkraut and beer, being sour and containing small quantities of alcohol. That product was then used for making soups, that started the tradition of borshch.

Life and Health an article about how the plant is connected to borshch

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